


incognito

by imposterhuman



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: BAMF Tony Stark, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Fluff, Infiltration, M/M, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Pym Particles, Stony - Freeform, captain stevens, doctor potts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-26
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-03-19 12:21:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18969196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imposterhuman/pseuds/imposterhuman
Summary: “I am literallyneverdoing a mission with you again,” Tony grumbled to Steve, quiet enough that Steve’s enhanced ears would hear him but no one else would.“This is not my fault,” Steve hissed back, sounding a little guilty. It was totally his fault.





	incognito

**Author's Note:**

> just wanted to write something with dr potts/captain stevens since i saw endgame, so here it is! this is a nebulous avengers world where tony was never with pepper, theyre just bffs. this is NOT set during endgame (as much as i love stony, tony would never cheat on pepper and thats that on that)
> 
> enjoy!

“I am literally  _ never  _ doing a mission with you again,” Tony grumbled to Steve, quiet enough that Steve’s enhanced ears would hear him but no one else would. 

 

“This is not my fault,” Steve hissed back, sounding a little guilty. It was totally his fault. 

 

“You neglected to mention that there would be  _ people  _ here,” Tony pasted on a press smile, winking at a woman who was looking at them oddly. “Hey, darlin’,” he flirted, expertly imitating Steve’s Brooklyn accent. “See somethin’ interesting?”

 

She blushed and scurried off. Tony didn’t blame her; his concentrated charm was a little too much for awkward young secretaries. It was, after all, his intention to fluster her.

 

“I didn’t think there would be,” said Steve, looking around anxiously. Tony wanted to smack him; he very clearly looked like he didn’t belong, with his pink cheeks and wary eyes. “Come on, we should hurry.”

 

Tony rolled his eyes. “Try to look a little more suspicious, will you?” he straightened his spine, changing his expression to haughty and distant. “If you look confident enough, no one will question you.”

 

“Uh huh,” said Steve, shrinking in on himself even more. 

 

“I swear,” Tony muttered. “We’re going to get- and look, here someone comes. Try to look a little less like you’re infiltrating an enemy base, will you?”

 

A man strode up to them, clad in black with a gun at his hip. “Excuse me,” he said gruffly. “Can I help you?”

 

“Yes, actually,” Tony said smoothly. “My name is Doctor Howard Potts, and I’ve just been assigned to head the research department, after the, um, unfortunate departure of the last supervisor.” Tony had personally arrested the last supervisor and delivered him to SHIELD custody, but the guard didn’t need to know that. “My associate-”

 

“Captain, uh, Stevens,” Steve said, stilted. 

 

“-and I were just headed to the labs now, but I’m afraid I’m a little lost,” Tony laughed fakely. “Could you point me in the right direction?”

 

“Let me just check the database for you,” the security guard said, pulling out his phone. 

 

“Of course,” Tony tapped the side of his glasses, activating JARVIS’s hacking protocols. Within seconds, Dr. Howard Potts and Captain Roger Stevens were listed as the new supervisors of the research labs. “Take your time.”

 

“I see you’re both listed,” the guard said grudgingly. “Take the left elevator to the basement.”

 

“Thanks a ton,” Tony said, leading Steve to the elevator. 

 

“Howard Potts?” Steve asked when they were out of earshot. “Are you even a doctor?”

 

“I have seven PhDs,  _ Captain Stevens _ ,” Tony snorted. “I panicked, okay? Normally I don’t have to introduce myself. At least I didn’t just add an  _ s  _ to my name.”

 

“No, you stole your father and best friend’s,” Steve said dryly. “Points for creativity.”

 

“Next time, I’ll introduce myself as Doctor Anthonys,” said Tony. “And  _ you  _ can come up with an actual alias.”

 

Steve pushed the button, sending the elevator down. “Well, it worked, didn’t it?”

 

Tony scowled, but he couldn’t argue. “The particles will probably be pretty guarded,” he said, focusing on the mission. “Let’s do our best not to blow our covers this time, yeah?”

 

“That guy was asking to be punched in the face,” Steve defended. “You didn’t hear what he was saying about you.”

 

“Steve,” Tony said sympathetically. “He said it to my face, too; I guess he didn’t recognize me. It wasn't a big deal, and you blew our covers so badly that Natasha banned us from undercover missions.” 

 

Steve looked mutinous. “That was partially your fault. You didn’t have to repulsor the guy; I had it.”

 

“So maybe I was a little mad,” Tony smiled cheekily. “We’ll call it a 90/10 split on the blame.”

 

“80/20,” countered Steve. 

 

“Are you going to blow our covers this time?”

 

“No,” Steve mumbled.

 

“Then 80/20 is acceptable.”

 

The elevator doors opened with a cheerful noise into the lab floor. It was empty save for a few scientists scattered in the corners. None of them looked up, too absorbed in their work to care.

 

Tony scanned the room, looking for where the particles were being held. Nothing screamed  _ stolen experimental research _ , but Tony knew from his hacking that this was where they were being held.

 

“We’re doing an evaluation,” Tony hissed their cover low enough that only Steve could hear. “Stay in character.”

 

“Try not to make any scientists cry,” Steve teased, falling in step beside him.

 

“I make no promises.” 

 

Tony strode up to the first lab bench, exuding confidence from every pore. “Walk me through your process,” he ordered. The scientist scrambled to obey, holding up what he was working on. It was incomprehensible to Steve, but Tony seemed to understand and instantly dismiss it. “Never mind. Next!”

 

The procession of scientists continued, Tony moving on from each one in moments. He had fallen completely into his persona; even Steve could barely see traces of his Tony. Doctor Howard Potts had all of Pepper’s ruthless efficiency, with a side of Howard’s cruelty. The only thing of Tony’s was his intelligence.  

 

“Who did he say he was, again?” one of the scientists asked another, watching Tony and Steve out of the corner of his eye. 

 

The other blinked. “I’m… not sure.”

 

Steve resisted the urge to facepalm. If they were caught because Tony forgot to introduce himself, Steve was never going to let him live it down. 

 

“And what are  _ you  _ working on?” Tony demanded, staring down a mousy man in a lab coat. 

 

“Extradimensional subatomic particles to shunt or add mass to reduce or increase the scale of an object, sir,” the man stuttered out. 

 

Tony’s smile was sharklike. “Perfect,” he said, snatching the glowing red vial out of the man’s hand. “Mind if I borrow this?”

 

“Um, yes?”

 

“Well, I don’t care.”

 

Steve smiled in relief; they had accomplished their mission, and nothing had gone wrong. Of course, he smiled too soon.

 

“Holy shit,” one woman breathed, staring at Tony. “You’re  _ Tony Stark _ . Can I have your autograph?”

 

“Tony Stark?” the security guard repeated. “Wait, Iron Man?”

 

“Fuck,” Tony cursed. “Steve, I’ll take the blame this time.” He pocketed the vial and glared at the woman who blew his cover. “No autographs. You all suck.”

 

The woman, despite working for a terrorist group who had made an enemy of the Avengers and iron Man, pouted.

 

“Get them!” a guard shouted. Clearly, the shock had worn off from their covers being blown.

 

“That’s our cue to leave,” Tony said pleasantly to the scientists. “It’s been fun, let’s not do it again. Get a real job!”

 

Steve wanted to smack him. “Don’t be a dick,” he chided, following Tony down the hall and up the stairs.

 

“Language!”

 

“Are you ever going to let that one go?”

 

Only Tony could laugh while they were being chased through an enemy base by armed guards when both of them didn’t have their weapons. “Never,” he said as they reached the lobby they came in. Tony slowed his run to a brisk walk, trying not to attract attention. 

 

Unfortunately, the guards upstairs had already been tipped off. They zeroed in on Steve and Tony in seconds, drawing their weapons and giving chase. 

 

Tony abandoned subtlety, just grabbing Steve’s arm and making a run for it. They lost the guards in the crowd, but he knew it was only a matter of time before they caught up. He really didn't want to get shot, so he threw his mind into overdrive to think of a plan to get out. 

 

Steve pulled them to a stop, dragging them into a corner, farther from the exit. 

 

“Do you trust me?” he asked, pushing Tony up against a wall, separating them from the crowd.

 

“Of course I do, you idiot,” Tony said, eyes wild, scanning the room for their pursuers. “What are you doing? We need to be running, not-”

 

Steve lowered his face to Tony’s, cutting him off with a kiss. Tony went pliant under him, melting into the kiss with a soft moan. He wrapped his arms around Steve’s neck, pulling him closer. Steve lost himself in the kiss, in the soft feel of Tony’s lips on his own.

 

The footsteps of the security guards went right past them, barely faltering. 

 

Steve pulled away, panting, as soon as he figured they were gone. Tony was pink-cheeked, eyes blown, and Steve desperately wanted to kiss him again.

 

“Natasha taught me that,” he said awkwardly.

 

Tony raised an eyebrow, getting his blush under control. Steve both envied his composure and wanted to mess him up again. “Natasha taught you how to kiss?”

 

“No,” Steve coughed in embarrassment. “I meant, she taught me that PDA was the best way to go unnoticed.”

 

“Unconventional, but I like it,” Tony smirked, but his heart wasn’t in it. 

 

“Besides,” Steve interrupted his self-deprecating train of thought, a smile playing on reddened lips. “I wanted to kiss you, anway. This was just a good excuse.”

 

“Oh?” Tony unconsciously leaned forward.

 

“Yeah,” Steve caught his lips again, sweet and chaste. “Wanna step out with me, Doctor Potts?”

 

“I don’t know, Captain Stevens,” Tony replied, a note of teasing in his voice. “I think I need more data to be able to come to a decision. I have a PhD, after all; I have to practice good science.”

 

Steve laughed low in his chest, full of promise. He bent his head down to kiss Tony again. “I think we can arrange that.”

**Author's Note:**

> hope you liked! hit me up on tumblr @imposter-human
> 
> comments and kudos make me happy


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